haselnüsse

remember last month when i said that soon it’ll be time to get serious about that holiday gift list? well, i hate to bring it up, but i think we are there friends; time is growing short.

now is the time to get out the calendar, sharpen our pencils, and start some serious strategizing about who’s getting what from our needles this year.

what we need are those little gems—projects that take mere hours to knit, but look like we slaved over them to get the perfect results for that special recipient. yes, we like those, don’t we?

haselnüsse falls right into that category; this adorable little neckwarmer takes just hours to knit (i swear!) and is enjoyable from start to finish. it’s practically two gifts at once—one for you in the knitting (especially when you choose a yummy yarn) and one to add to the gift box.

with three sizes to choose from, it’s almost certain to be perfect for someone on your list. not only that, but most knitters can get two of them out of a 100g skein of DK yarn—no kidding. it could even qualify as that potato chip project that you end making multiple times—maybe for friends at the office or in secret santa?

shown above, size medium in string theory hand-dyed yarn merino DK, a lustrous, cushy, 4-ply DK yarn. this was our club colorway last november, a chocolate brown dusted with gold named corylus; i’m pretty sure they will be making this colorway available to everyone at some point, but for immediate purchase, the java colorway is very closely related and available now. or you can browse their full array of gorgeous colorways for another option.

check out the haselnüsse project page in ravelry to view wonderful examples knit by our 2011 club members, making it easy to imagine how your own haselnüsse set will look in another colorway or yarn base.

haselnüsse is also included in the FIFC 2011 eBook, as part of the 2011 club collection—eight terrific accessory patterns with a total of ten pieces. each pattern is multi-sized and suitable for gifting; many will have universal appeal for women, men, and children alike. purchase the eBook collection from the knitspot club website or in our ravelry pattern shop.

kudos to our friends at string theory hand dyed yarn for cooking up the perfect chocolate-and-gold colorway for november 2011. and many thanks to our friends susie and ellie, our lovely models who were subjected to working on location at our best local chocolatiere, bittersweet’s, in stow, OH. those poor girls had to taste one chocolate after another in the name of knitspot, cluck, cluck . . .

we are very grateful for the generosity of our hosts, chocolatiere todd horvath and partner/manager, gwyneddh jones for giving over the shop to us one veining last november for a photo shoot and subsequent chocolate tasting (todd is nothing if not passionate about his work). and oh, they make cake, too; if you live anywhere nearby, their place is worth the detour.

Strange. I just tried to buy the pattern from your Knitspot shop, and it told me that I had to change the quantity because you didn’t have enough in stock. Except that I was buying 1 copy of an electronic file. Are you having a shortage of electrons in Ohio this week? (I kid, I kid!)